Health machine



Aug. 3, 1937. 4 l. KONDO 8,

HEALTH MACHINE Fil'ed June 30, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 6 .38 4o 6'INVENTOR, 5 54 I. Konfio Aug. 3, 1937. 1, KQN'DO 2,088,963

' HEALTH MACHINE Filed. June so, 1936 27Sheets-Sheet 2 lllr H 5 -lmINVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 3, 1937 UNITED STATES.

HEALTH Itaro Kondo, Shizuoka-sbi, .lapan Application June 30,

193,6; satin No. 88,260

In Japan November 1 Claim.

. Myinvention relates to improvements in electrically driven healthmachines by use of which oscillatory movements are imparted to humanbodies for health purposes.

5. 1 An object of my invention is to provide health machines of the kindspecified, suitable for home use for training human bodies, recoveringand maintaining their health, and also treating them for variousdiseases.

Another object of my invention is to provide health machines in whichundesirable noises are minimized, and in which no undesirable shockiscimparted to. the human body under treatment. A further object of myinvention is to provide thehealth machines in which the rate of theoscillatory movement can be adjusted or changed readily and withoutspecial care, with a constant speed of the driving motor.

In order that myinvention may be more fully 20 understood, there willnow be described by Way of example, and with the aid of the accompanyingdrawings, one constructional form which my invention may assume.

In the drawings: 7

Fig. 1 shows a front elevation of a health ma,- chine embodying myinvention, a portion of the housing beingbroken away, and some partsenclosed therein being detached.

Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the machine :30 shown in Fig. 1, aportion of the housing being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of the machine shown in Figs. 1 and 2,the section. being taken on the line IIIIII in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional plan View of the machine shown in Figs. '1 and 2,the section being taken on the line IVIV in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional speed-adjusting means.

5. W Figs. 6 and '7 are perspective views showin how a human body istreated by my health machine.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, the health machine illustrated,comprises a housing I hav- $4 ing a base portion 2 and an upstandingportion 3 serving as a supporting frame for several parts hereinafterdescribed. The base portion 2 is closed at the bottom by a bed plate 4secured to the bottom edge of the base portion, and provided v5. with anopening 5 for enabling the inspection of and the access to those partsenclosed within the base portion 2. The opening 5 is detachably closedby acover plate 6 with a plurality of screws 6.

5155 Within the base portion 2 of the 2 view of the housing l and on thebed plate 4, is. disposedan electric motor 'ljfor' driving a shaft 8through reducing gears andsPeed-Changing means forming the essentialfeatures of. my invention. Theshaft 8 is arranged. in parallel relationwith the rotor shaft of the-motor l, androtatably supported by suitablebeaifings. 9. and H1.

The reducing gears comprise a pair of disc-like rotor members. [I andI2, frictionally engaging each other. The rotor member ll is of asmaller, diameter than the rotor member l2, and carried by the rotorshaft of the motor I, while therotor member l2is carried bya'counter-shaft l3 which rotatably supported bysuitable bearings It andi5, and disposed in perpendicular relatiqn, withthe driven shaft 8 and.the rotor shaft of themotor 1,. The counter-shaft 13 also carries ano erdisc-like, rotor member I6, at that end ad acent to the driven shaft 8.

The rotor members or friction discs l2 and [6 are keyed to thecounter-shaft l3 but are made to be longitudinally movable thereonwithin a limited extent. of well-known constructions maybefutilizedforthis purpose, and it is thought to, be unnecessary to illustrate such aconstruction'linl detail, as any one skilled in the art can readilydesign such a construction. A compressionhelicalspring I1 is disposedbetween the two discs [land it for the purpose hereinafter described.

adrivn shaft 8 carries a friction disc memher lawhich is keyed to an endportion of the shaft 8 but is made to be longitudinally movable thereon.This longitudinal movement is given by the, manual adjustment of a screwmember l9, the threaded portion of which co-operates with a threadedhole 20 formed in the housing wall and extends into the housing. Thescrew member. [9. has. at its inner end an enlargement 2| which isconnected with the hub portion 22 of the, disc [8 through a thrust ballbearing device as; shown in Fig. 5. The screw member I9 is held in anyadjusted position by means of a lock nut IQ. The disc l8 has, in its hubportion at the opposite side to the hub portion 22, a long bore-[intowhich the end portion of shaft 8 extends. This bore is provided with asuificiently long key way 23 into which a key 24 attached to the shaft 8slidably fits and is longitudinally movable. therein. The periphery ofthe. disc [8 frictionally eneaseslwith one iacef h isc l6 p d i plane.perpendicular to that of the former. Thus the disc i8 is rotated as thedisc I6 rotates, the peed ratio; therebetween being determined by thedistance of the point of their contact from the centre of the disc I6.One face of the disc I2 frictionally engages with the periphery of thedisc II, and both of the discs I2 and I6 are urged to their respectiveco-operating discs II and I8 by the force of the spring I'I, theirfrictional engagements being thus secured.

The driven shaft 8 carries a pair of cams and 26 secured thereto inspaced relation and in opposite phase relation to each other. These camsrespectively engage with and operate a pair of followers Hand 28, whichare respectively mounted on the opposite ends of a horizontal swing arm29 fixed to a vertical swing rod 30. The rod 36 is supported at itslower end by a thrust bearing 3| on the bed plate 4, and extends upwardthrough a suitable opening in the wall of the base portion 2 of thehousing, while at its upper end portion the rod 30 extends into the topportion of the upstanding frame 3 through a suitable journal bearing 32.The rod 30 carries at its upper end a second swing arm 33 fixed thereto.The arm 33 has ball ends 34 and 35, which respectively engage with andoperate a pair of pull rods or plungers 36 and 31. The plungers 36 and31 are slidably supported within cylindrical casings 38 and 39,respectively, supported in the top portion of the frame 3. The casings38 and 39 have suitable openings through which the swing arm 33 extendsinto the casings. Helical springs 40 and M are respectively insertedbetween the plungers 36 and 3! and the end walls of the casings 38 and3.9, for absorbing any mechanical shock.

The major and intermediate portion of the swing rod 30 is disposed infront of the upstanding frame 3 and carries a third swing arm 42 whichis slidable along the rod 30 and can be fixed thereto at any adjustedheight by means of a set screw 43. The arm 42 has at its front end alateral extension 44 having a pair of waveshaped depressions 45 and 46.

In operation, electrical power is supplied to the motor I through a wireI. As the motor is operated, the shaft 8 is rotated at a reduced speedthrough the friction discs Ii, I2, I6 and I8 as will readily beunderstood. The rotational speed of the shaft 8 may be readily changedby the manual adjusting of the screw member I9 as hereinbeforedescribed. The rotating motion of the shaft 8 is converted into avibrational swinging motion of the swing rod 30 by means of the cams 25and 26 together with the followers 21 and 28, as will be readilyunderstood, and vibrationally operates the arms 42 and 33. The swingingmotion of the arm 33 is converted into a reciprocating motion of theplungers 36 and 31, the two plungers being moved to and fro in oppositephases to each other. The plungers 36 and 31 are provided at their frontends with hooks 41 and 48, respectively, with which hooks the loopedends of a pair of belts or bands 49 and 50 are engaged.

Two examples of the manner in which a. human body is treated are shownin Figs. 6 and 7. As shown in Fig. 6, a man lies on his back with hishead towards the front of the machine and his neck resting on a suitablepillow. The belts or bands 49 and 53 are provided with loops 5| and 52at their free ends, and the man with his legs upwards has each of hisfeet engaging with each loop 5|, 52. The bands 49 and 50 have alsobranches 53 and 54, respectively, having loops with which the hands ofthe mans upwardly extended arms are engaged respectively. As the machineis operated, the operators arms and legs are swung vibrationally to andfro.

This treatment agitates the action of capillary vessels of the humanbody, with the result that the veins of the limbs are shaken, and thecirculation of blood throughout the human body is normally effected.Moreover, the skin of the limbs are activated and every organ of thebody is adequately stimulated. This treatment, when effected for severalminutes at least every moming and evening, has been proved to be adaptedfor treating limb disorders, high blood pressure, neuralgia, rheumatism,heart trouble, kidney trouble, impoverishment of blood, etc.

In the second manner of treatment as shown in Fig. 7, a man lies on hisback in front of the machine with his feet riding on the swing armextension 44, each foot in each depression 45, 46, and his neck restingon his own arms bent thereunder. As the machine is operated, the feettogether with the legs to the waist are vibrationally swung left andright, just as in the manner of the tail motion of the gold fish. Thetoes must be kept upwards during the treatment. By this treatment, thespine is rearranged normally, any oppression of spinal nerves isreleased, and the circulation of the blood is made normal. Moreover, thefaculty of producing red blood-corpuscles in the marrow is stimulated,the tenseness of the sympathetic nerves is facilitated, and the contentsof the viscera are rearranged uniformly. This treatment, when effectedfor several minutes every morning and evening, has been proved to beadapted for curing constipation, intestinal and stomach disorder,neuralgia, rheumatism, etc.

During the treatment of a human body with the health machine of thiskind, it may happen that the man under treatment intentionally orunintentionally ceases to follow the vibrational movement of themachine, and in such a case the reaction causes undesirable shocks to beimparted to the human body unless particularly devised for this.According to my invention such a shock is never imparted to the humanbody, but the reaction causes slipping between the discs I6 and I8 orthe discs II and I2. Moreover, since there is no play gap between thediscs II,- I2, I6, I8, such as in toothed gears, nor any flexing part,such as in a pulley and belt drive, undesirable noise is minimized. Thespring I1 functions not only to minimize the play gap, but also toensure the frictional engagement between the discs for positivetransmission of the motion.

Although I have shown and described only one embodiment of my invention,I am fully aware that further modifications thereof are possible. Myinvention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as isnecessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appended claim.

I claim as my invention:-

In a health machine, the combination with an electric motor, a swingarm, a first drive shaft, and means for converting the rotating motionof said shaft into a vibrational swinging motion of said swing arm, ofmeans interposed between said motor and said shaft for transmittingmovement therebetween and including a friction disc on the shaft of saidmotor, a second friction disc engaging at its side face with theperiphery of said first-mentioned disc,

a third friction disc on said second shaft, a fourth friction disc keyedto said first shaft but longitudinally movable thereon and engaging atits periphery with the face of said third friction disc which is remotefrom said first friction disc, said second and third friction discsbeing relatively movable along said second shaft, a compression springinterposed between said second and third discs for pressing themrespectively against said first and fourth discs, and a screw member forshifting said fourth disc longitudinally on said first shaft.

ITARO KONDO.

